Carl Spackler

Well now...at least nobody could ever call you a defeatist.

Carl

maddogmax

Scoop,

My experience has been that if you are not on your scheduled DH it's up to you to get to the hotel. I don't believe they will change the transportation to fit your schedule. If I am wrong, please post here. If you are DH to ATL, there are vans going downtown all the time.

acl65pilot

This is correct.

Check Essential

That is exactly the sort of scenario that constructive engagement is supposed to prevent.
We've held up our end. We'll see management's response shortly.

DAL 88 Driver

In other words... we'll see just how "constructive" it's been.

sailingfun

You have to attempt to view it from a management standpoint. They have spent five years in a reeducation campaign with the other employees that Delta will only be able to pay industry standard wages. They are correct in their cost assumptions to an extent. This is perhaps the most brutal industry around on companies that let costs get out of line.
A pilot contract that is viewed as above the abstract they have created with the other employees will lead to big problems. After our 2001 contract they had to follow up with a 17 percent raise to the mechanics when things started to get ugly there.
I suspect they will be willing to put forth a contract with some impressive numbers in the out years. They will not put out anything near what I or most pilots expect in the short term. The collapse of talks at UAL and the 1113 action at AMR will leave the company thinking and serious raises for the pilots will put their pilot costs way to high and that they will have other costs with non union employee fallout. The package they put forth will be back loaded while the package we want and deserve will have to be front loaded. I see the gap between the two as far to big to be bridged before we go to the NBM. The NMB has made it clear we can expect a very long process if we go that route.
Again this is going to be a long difficult contract with a lot of choices that have to be made. Don't start spending raises now. They may not come for 5 years.

80ktsClamp

sailing- It's too bad that those ugly blue and red small planes that have started showing up in greater numbers the past few weeks make a good amount more than the pilots that staff our 34 largest aircraft make.

That had better be a major point to the NMB.

Jack Bauer

80, you might as well give up on the DAL/SWA fulcrum strategy. It makes sense to most of us and many believe it's the best way to lift our rates but your union (based on what we have seen/not seen and heard/not heard) is not interested in pursuing this strategy.

(D)ALPA knows best....

Sailing may well be correct on one point....this contract is 5 years away from being put into place. The final agent trying to put the pieces together of a failed strategy (a strategy that refused to leverage the most powerful talking point available), likely wont be ALPA. Time will tell.

gloopy

A.K.A. "a contract is a contract"?

Bill Lumberg

Raising our rates to Southwest plus will hurt our competitors even more because their own pilots will request "Delta +1%.". Go tell that to management, it's actually hurting a competitor. If ALPA can't communicate that, then maybe someone else will. Btw, your post reeks of "managing expectations.". You need to stop that.